Avant Gardner has named Josh Wyatt its new chief executive officer. He formally took charge of the club complex that houses Brooklyn Mirage, the Kings Hall, and Great Hall yesterday. As CEO, he will oversee a wave of additions to one of North America’s biggest club sites including a music venue that doubles as a mocktail bar, a high-fidelity listening room, new VIP areas, and an art and visual program.
The appointment of Wyatt, who has long worked alongside venture capital and private equity in the hospitality and nightlife sectors, follows the implosion of Electric Zoo after its chaotic 2023 edition, a year after the festival’s acquisition by Avant Gardner. That resulted in a much-delayed refund process, a class-action lawsuit by frustrated fans, and plenty of work for Wyatt to make amends. “It’s something I wanted to address head-on,” he told Billboard. “If I were to make a constructive criticism of the company in the past, it’s that they have not always done a good job of communicating with the various [Electric Zoo] stakeholders.”